MOUNT VERNON — While researching archives for potential stories, I sometimes bump into information that proves interesting, but difficult to use. One such tidbit is a reference in the July 11, 1916, issue of the Mount Vernon Democratic Banner, a long-running local newspaper. The news item is a small column-filler which reports that noted automobile […]
History Knox
Posted inArea History
Knox County academic aided Abe Lincoln in duel, was fixture in Confederate cabinet during Civil War
MOUNT VERNON — It’s interesting to see how the prevailing philosophies of institutions take shape. Knox County’s Kenyon College became a notable outpost for anti-slavery progressive movements in the years leading up to the Civil War. But it wasn’t always that way. It turns out that one of the major architects of the Southern mythology […]
Posted inArea History
Paul Newman’s knuckles led to an acting career, instead of selling bowling balls
A snowbound weekend is a good opportunity to retell one of the classic stories of Knox County history: the infamous brawl at the Bluebird Club, which resulted in the rise of one of the world’s most beloved actors, Paul Newman. While newspaper reports of the time give only the basics of what happened, there was […]
Posted inArea History
Is this a view from the ‘Other Fredericktown?’
FREDERICKTOWN — A bit of a mystery to begin the new year. I search many places for images and stories for this column of Knox County history. One area that has often proved fruitful is vintage postcards, which were once a highly popular way of contacting friends through the mail. Since one side of the […]
Posted inArea History
Gertie the Dinosaur fueled Fredericktown in the 1950s
FREDERICKTOWN — In a recent vintage photo of downtown Mount Vernon in the early 1950s, we saw the sign (if not the actual building) for a Sinclair gas station. This image from around the same time shows the Sinclair station that used to operate in Fredericktown at the intersection of South Main and Columbus Road, […]
Posted inArea History
Rich Hill trees were harvested for rich customers in 1873
CENTERBURG — I found an interesting little report in the March 26, 1873 issue of a Cleveland newspaper known as The Evening Post. It quotes a special report to a Columbus paper (the original of which I could not find) stating in that year more than 300 railcars of black walnut logs were slated to […]
Posted inArea History
Johnny Appleseed’s heroic night run tracked from Mansfield to Mount Vernon & back
MOUNT VERNON — In early September of 1813, tensions were running high along the Ohio frontier. The United States was at war with Great Britain, and through their fort at Detroit, the British were encouraging natives displaced by encroaching white settlements to attack. In reality, the Indians didn’t attack in north central Ohio until the […]
Posted inArea History
Dice game at center of 1891 squabble between Mansfield & Mount Vernon men
MANSFIELD — I love finding quaint slice-of-life stories in old area newspapers. But one I stumbled across this week left me scratching my head. It’s about a run-in between a Mount Vernon man who had opened a shooting gallery in Mansfield, but was charged with misconduct by a traveling salesman with the name Cook Walt. […]
Posted inArea History
Part II Jim Bowsher & the Temple of Tolerance: An appreciation and study of the artist
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part II of a series. Part I was published on June 22 and can be found here. In 1990, historian, artist, folklorist, and poet Jim Bowsher decided to start a new project for the millennium. He had already acquired a couple of large pieces that wouldn’t fit in his Wapakoneta house, […]
Posted inArea History
Butler was the site of a spectacular 2-train crash in 1854
BUTLER — The article in the Mt. Vernon True Whig starts dramatically: “A Terrible Accident. — One of the most disastrous accidents that ever occurred on the S. M. & N. Railroad, was that of yesterday morning.” That may sound like a major disaster of epic proportions, but it helps to know a couple of […]